GLOBE Policy Brief Series

The GLOBE Policy Brief Series aims to provide short, policy-relevant briefings on issues of public interest and contemporary concerns within GLOBE’s thematic areas written by GLOBE Centre colleagues. The series supports the GLOBE Centre’s objective of disseminating our academic research in accessible and relevant manner to broader audiences, including policymakers, the media, civil society groups and the general public.

May 2019

Major legal changes and new legislation, as expected after Brexit, can affect the performance of long-term contracts. Yet, English contract law provides limited assistance to contracting parties faced with new laws that affect their contracts. As a result, policy-makers and legislators need to identify the implications of new laws for existing long-term contracts, and consider introducing provisions specifying the date from which new laws take effect. Moreover, contracting parties need to understand the impact of these legal changes on their existing contracts, and legal advisers should advise clients to include enhanced force majeure clauses in their contracts. | Press Release.

October 2018

Blended finance instruments are promoted as a means of scaling up resources to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by using public and philanthropic resources to mobilise private capital for financing global public goods. This brief explores how the expansion of blended finance without consideration of broader regulatory and governance implications can undermine sustainable development in four ways: fragmenting the aid architecture, weakening accountability and community safeguards, undermining the ownership of policies by countries and communities, and creating new risks in the international financial system. | Press Release.

June 2018

Businesses often incorporate as companies to benefit from separate corporate personality and limited liability for shareholders. The EU right to freedom of establishment allows companies duly incorporated in one Member State to be recognised and enjoy these benefits in any other Member State without question. The UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU removes this right from UK companies and other EU corporates in the UK. There is a material risk that post- Brexit UK companies operating in the EU could cease to be recognised, with serious consequences for shareholders and creditors. | Press Release.

May 2018

Intellectual property (IP) protections are essential to British creative and innovative sectors. Through the EU, the UK has unrestricted access to its biggest market for IP-intensive exports, influence over international standards as part of a major trade bloc, and certainty in its legal relations with other states. Brexit puts these benefits at risk and limits the UK’s ability to diverge from EU standards. This brief proposes policy options to mitigate these risks, considering four models of UK-EU cooperation | News Article.

February 2018

Apart from ensuring tariff-free trade in goods, the UK’s EU membership removes regulatory barriers to trade and investment. If Brexit results in the UK losing full access to the Single Market, financial transactions, business activity, and investment will be seriously affected. UK companies, especially banks, will have difficulty expanding and offering their services across the Channel, which could motivate firms to relocate. The London Stock Exchange will be less attractive for European companies and investors, and fewer multinational companies will locate their European headquarters in London. This brief examines three policy options to mitigate these risks. | Press Release.